The Last Oracle (57 page)

Authors: James Rollins

Tags: #Mystery, #Thriller, #Suspense, #Fantasy, #Science Fiction, #Adventure, #Historical

Russia’s radioactive legacy.
The descriptions of Pripyat and the planned closure of the old Sarcophagus under a giant arch of twelve-meter-thick steel is factual. Details about the old Soviet Union’s plutonium factories in the Ural Mountains, as disturbing as they may sound, are also true. There are indeed underground cities where prisoners were housed to work the uranium mines. Most miners died before ever earning their freedom. And today, the Chelyabinsk region of the Ural Mountains remains one of the most polluted places on the planet. In fact, Lake Karachay does exist, and according to the Natural Resources Defense Council in Washington, D.C., the radiation level on the shore is sufficient to deliver a lethal dose to someone in less than an hour. So as Konstantin warned, it’s not a good place for a picnic. Worse yet, the lake is leaking radiation into the neighboring Asanov swamp. Fault lines do cross under the lake. An earthquake potentially threatens to do just what Savina Martov sought to accelerate. Such a disaster would kill the Arctic Ocean and sweep over northern Europe.

Strange weapons.
In this book, I employed sonic flares, radiosensitive poisons, whip-swords, shotguns that shoot Taser rounds, even a cell phone that converts into a gun. As you might guess, they’re all real.

Autism and Autistic Savant Syndrome.
While the exact cause for autism remains unknown, the latest research initiated by the Autism Genome Project in collaboration with the National Institute of Health has found that certain genes, along with environmental factors, contribute to the presentation of the disorder. For a better understanding of such unique minds, I highly recommend Dr. Temple Grandin’s book,
Thinking in Pictures: My Life with Autism.
Another book that I found insightful about autism and savant syndrome was the memoir by Daniel Tammet,
Born on a Blue Monday: Inside the Extraordinary Mind of an Autistic Savant.

In fact, the seed for this novel came from a quote by Dr. Temple Grandin. She was kind enough to permit me to use it:
“If by some magic, autism had been eradicated from the face of the earth, then men would still be socializing in front of a wood fire at the entrance to a cave.”
To my mind, it echoes
the quote at the beginning of this novel from Socrates about the Oracle of Delphi:
“The greatest blessings granted to mankind come by way of madness, which is a divine gift.”
It makes one wonder if such unique minds truly guided the path of mankind’s history.

To answer that, I’ll end with a partial list of famous historical figures who are believed to have displayed some level of autistic tendencies.

Hans Christian Andersen	Jane Austen
Ludwig van Beethoven	Emily Dickinson
Thomas Edison	Albert Einstein
Henry Ford	Thomas Jefferson
Franz Kafka	Michelangelo
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart	Isaac Newton
Friedrich Nietzsche	Mark Twain
Nikola Tesla	Henry David Thoreau
Alan Turing	Nostradamus

You be the judge.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

While it may be inspiration that starts a novel, it’s the dedication of the folks that surround an author that turn such inspiration into a finished product. In my last novel, I acknowledged the fantastic dream team at HarperCollins, upon whose guidance and expertise I can place no greater value. In this note, I’d like to spend a few words to especially recognize the writers of my critique group. I’ve been with this group since the beginning of my career (when I was writing horrible short stories that are now safely buried in my backyard), and it was through their counsel and criticisms that I have become a better writer. I’d first like to acknowledge Penny Hill, Steve and Judy Prey, and Dave Murray, whom I lean on too heavily at times for last-minute input. Then there is the core group, who has been with me through the trenches from the beginning: Caroline Williams, Chris Crowe, Lee Garrett, Jane O’Riva, Michael Gallowglas, and Denny Grayson. And the new blood to the group, who always brings refreshing input: Leonard Little, Kathy L’Ecluse, and Scott Smith. Last, there is one gentleman who has since moved across the country but deserves special acknowledgment here as friend, mentor, and colleague: Dave Meek. Beyond the group, Carolyn McCray and David Sylvian stand on either side of me and keep pushing me to loftier heights. I also want to thank J. A. Konrath, author of the wonderful Jack Daniels series, for being there when I needed him during a moment of crisis; Jotu J. Kamlani, for his help in bladed weaponry; and Anthony Ossa-Richardson, for
his personal help with the history of Delphi. As to the core of this novel, I would like to especially acknowledge Temple Grandin (author of
Animals in Translation
) for both the inspiration behind this book and for allowing me to quote her. And finally, a special thanks to the four people instrumental at all levels of production: my editor, Lyssa Keusch, and her colleague May Chen, and my agents, Russ Galen and Danny Baror. And as always, I must stress any and all errors of fact or detail in this book fall squarely on my own shoulders.

About the Author

New York Times
bestselling author
JAMES ROLLINS
holds a doctorate in veterinary medicine and runs his own practice in Sacramento, California. An amateur spelunker and a certified scuba enthusiast, he’ll often be found either underground or underwater.

www.jamesrollins.com

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ALSO BY JAMES ROLLINS

Subterranean

Excavation

Deep Fathom

Amazonia

Ice Hunt

Sandstorm

Map of Bones

Black Order

The Judas Strain

This book is a work of fiction. The characters, incidents, and dialogue are drawn from the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

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EPub Edition May 2008 ISBN 9780061792885

FIRST EDITION

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Library of the Congress

Credits

Jacket design by Ervin Serrano

Jacket photographs: Athenian red-figure kylix depicting Aegeus, king of Athens, consulting the Delphic Oracle (pottery) by Greek ?? Staatliche Museen, Berlin, Germany/The Bridgeman Art Library Nationality/copyright status:
Greek/out of copyright; Taj Mahal by Suzanne & Nick Geary/Getty Images; fire by Photodisc/Superstock